[senco-forum] dyslexia friendly schools

You've covered a lot already. Here are a few more I've emailed to all
curriculum staff as part of their tip of the week. I apologise for them
being long but I've just copied and pasted the emails as is so you might
find some comments  not relevant for you personally. E.g. obtaining carbon
copies from the dyslexia centre etc.

The last one I sent was a file containing a Mindmap of the tips send so far
to encourage inclusive classroom strategies. I'll try to include it in a
separate email otherwise it may not be accepted by becta.

Tip 1.Many pupils with dyslexia have slow processing speed. This means they
cannot always quickly organise their thoughts or react to all the
information given to them in a short space of time particularly when they
are put under pressure.

Give the “teacher’s voice” a rest so that dyslexic pupils can have “Thinking
time”  in order process and understand the information you have given them
so they don’t become overloaded.

 Don’t expect an answer immediately when asking oral questions.

Prepare the dyslexic pupil in advance by giving them the oral question then
returning to them for an answer after giving them some time to organise
their thoughts.

Tip 2. We all have individual teaching styles. Some  are auditory teachers
--- verbally explain  with examples, stories etc. Some are Visual
teachers--- offer lots of visual aids etc.

Pupils also have different learning styles. This is certainly the case with
dyslexic pupils. Some have visual or auditory strengths, some may have
weaknesses in both fields

Be dyslexia friendly, offer  a multisensory approach as much as possible.
This involves utilising as many of the senses as possible to commit
information to memory.  Visual memory ( recalling seeing words, pictures)
auditory - ( recalling voices, sounds,)  Kinaesthetic (movement of hand,
lips, practical tasks etc).

Touch ( recalling textures temperature etc.)

The dyslexia friendly teaching approach  also benefits  all non-dyslexics
too.

Tip 3. Positive Approach.
Recognise the amount of effort required for a dyslexic pupil to achieve a
small quantity of good work. Recognise the restlessness and lack of
concentration resulting from this effort and realise that this is not
laziness. Therefore  do not correlate variability of performance with lack
of effort.
Offer praise and encouragement for success and effort.
Recognise and reward practical achievement.
Listen to and accept, with equal merit, verbal explanations.

  4. Children with Dyslexia face many obstacles in the classroom. They often
develop strategies to cover over the difficulties they face on a day to day
basis at school. For example...

They say they forgot their PE kit rather than admit they didn't know it was
Tuesday and PE day.

They may spend a long time looking for a classroom equipment rather than
admit they can't read  labels or remember where the equipment is stored.

They may say they've forgotten their homework rather than admit they
couldn't read the questions/ task to do the work.

Some children genuinely "can't remember" but often they simply don't know.

WE can help combat some of the problems faced by some of these children by
QUESTIONING THE ASSUMPTIONS WE MAY BE MAKING,  and then incorporate into our
daily classroom conversation and routine, activities which will provide
opportunities for overlearning.

Tip 5. Buddy System
 Pupils with Specific Learning difficulties/ dyslexia frequently struggle to
cope with pressures of constantly trying to catch up the work missed as a
consequence of being withdrawn from some subjects. Unfortunately,
withdrawing pupils is unavoidable when providing pupils with the specialist
tuition they need.
There are several reasons why pupils struggle to keep up with the written
notes.

·        The pupil has to copy up in addition to the usual homework.
·        Many pupils with SpLD experience difficulties with written work,
making the task of copying even more time consuming.
·        The pupil is often unable to borrow other pupil’s book because they
are needed to do homework etc.
Please consider allowing pupils in your classes to use the Buddy Scheme.
Adopting the “Buddy Scheme” will help to alleviate this problem.
·        The pupil is allocated a “Buddy” who will be responsible for
informing him/her of any information given in class during their absence
e.g. homework, notice of tests etc.

N.B Choose a buddy who has clear, neat handwriting.

·        The “Buddy” is given *carbon paper (or something similar) and spare
paper to slip into their exercise book. As The “Buddy writes he/she “copies”
(via the carbon paper) the notes for the absent pupil.

·        The pupil can then stick/place the notes provided by the “Buddy”
into their own book. This way the pupil can concentrate on reading/learning
the information rather than spend a long time copying up.
ALTERNATIVELY teachers could provide SpLD pupils with photocopied or typed
notes of the missed lesson to ensure the pupil has a complete set of work
for revision.

Tip 6. Readability of text.
The majority of pupils’ with dyslexia will have difficulties with reading.
Don’t expect a child to answer questions correctly or understand work they
have difficulty reading. Ensure your worksheets are clear and at a suitable
reading level for all your pupils especially those with dyslexia /SpLD

Support them in class by checking the readability levels of your worksheets
/books
There are a number of ways to do this:
   1. 5 Finger Rule
This is a quick easy way to check if the text is suitable for the individual
pupils. Give the pupil the text to be read.
The pupil raises a finger each time they cannot read a word. They stop when
all five fingers are raised on ONE page/passage.
This means the text is too difficult for them to read.
2.     Smog readability calculator

This is attached to the back of the “How to support Dyslexia Booklet”
situated in the Dyslexia Subject Folder (under info) on the network.

With this you calculate the ease of reading by following the instructions.
   3.     Online Readability

Alternatively you can copy and paste you text into the box and get the
online website the give you all the info you need.

Here are two websites you may find useful to do this
http://www.online-utility.org/english/readability_test_and_improve.jsp
(Brilliant)
http://www.harrymclaughlin.com/SMOG.htm  (Very good)

Cheers

Sheridan

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